Task 143: .DN File Format
Task 143: .DN File Format
File Format Specifications for the .DN File Format
The .DN file format is a proprietary format used by Adobe Dimension, a software tool for creating and rendering 3D scenes. It is designed to store comprehensive 3D scene data, including models, materials, lighting, environment settings, and other elements required for photorealistic compositing. Based on available documentation from Adobe and related sources, the .DN format is structured as a ZIP-based archive. This allows it to bundle multiple files and folders within a single container, facilitating the organization of complex scene components. However, detailed internal specifications, such as exact header structures or binary encoding, are not publicly documented by Adobe, as the format is intended for internal use within Dimension and is not meant for interchange with other 3D applications. Exporting from .DN typically involves conversion to open formats like OBJ or GLB, which may result in loss of certain data such as hierarchy or material fidelity.
1. List of All Properties of This File Format Intrinsic to Its File System
Given that the .DN format is a ZIP archive, its "properties" refer to the key components and data elements stored within the archive, which collectively define the 3D scene. These properties are derived from Adobe's documentation on what .DN files can contain. They include:
- 3D Models: Geometry data for objects in the scene, often in an internal format or referenced as OBJ-like structures.
- Materials: Surface properties applied to models, typically stored as Adobe Standard Material (.MDL) files or equivalent, including textures and shaders.
- Lighting: Environment lighting settings, including high-dynamic range (HDR) images or parameters for directional, point, or ambient lights.
- Environment Settings: Background images, reflections, and scene-wide properties like ground plane or skybox configurations.
- Camera Settings: Perspectives, positions, and parameters for rendering views.
- Decals and Graphics: 2D overlays or textures applied to 3D surfaces, such as logos or labels, often in image formats like PNG or PSD.
- Scene Hierarchy: Organizational structure of objects, groups, and transformations.
- Render Settings: Parameters for output quality, resolution, and other rendering options.
- Metadata: Scene-wide information, potentially in JSON or XML files, including version details, asset references, and custom attributes.
These properties are intrinsic to the format's role in managing a complete 3D scene within a compressed file system-like structure provided by the ZIP container.
2. Two Direct Download Links for Files of Format .DN
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AdobeDocs/dimension-api-docs/master/assets/base.dn (A base scene file from Adobe's Dimension API documentation repository, used for example rendering tasks.)
- https://gumroad.com/l/jWBdA (A free carton mockup .dn file from a Gumroad listing, downloadable after free "purchase" via the platform; direct access initiates the download process upon completion.)
3. Ghost Blog Embedded HTML JavaScript for Drag-and-Drop .DN File Dump
The following is an HTML page with embedded JavaScript that can be embedded in a Ghost blog (or similar). It allows users to drag and drop a .DN file, treats it as a ZIP archive, and dumps the list of internal properties (files and folders) to the screen.
4. Python Class for .DN File Handling
The following Python class uses the zipfile module to open a .DN file as a ZIP archive, decode (extract) its contents, read and print the properties (list of files), and support writing a new .DN file by creating a ZIP with similar structure.
import zipfile
import os
class DNFileHandler:
def __init__(self, filepath):
self.filepath = filepath
self.properties = []
def open_and_decode(self):
"""Opens and decodes the .DN file as a ZIP archive."""
if not self.filepath.endswith('.dn'):
raise ValueError("File must have .dn extension.")
with zipfile.ZipFile(self.filepath, 'r') as zf:
self.properties = zf.namelist()
print("Decoded properties:")
for prop in self.properties:
print(f"- {prop}")
def read(self):
"""Reads the properties (prints them if already decoded)."""
if not self.properties:
print("No properties decoded yet. Call open_and_decode first.")
else:
print("Read properties:")
for prop in self.properties:
print(f"- {prop}")
def write(self, new_filepath, files_to_add):
"""Writes a new .DN file by creating a ZIP with provided files."""
if not new_filepath.endswith('.dn'):
raise ValueError("New file must have .dn extension.")
with zipfile.ZipFile(new_filepath, 'w') as zf:
for file_path in files_to_add:
if os.path.exists(file_path):
zf.write(file_path, arcname=os.path.basename(file_path))
print(f"New .DN file written to {new_filepath} with properties: {files_to_add}")
# Example usage:
# handler = DNFileHandler('example.dn')
# handler.open_and_decode()
# handler.read()
# handler.write('new.dn', ['model.obj', 'material.mdl'])
5. Java Class for .DN File Handling
The following Java class uses java.util.zip to open a .DN file as a ZIP archive, decode (list) its contents, read and print the properties, and support writing a new .DN file.
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.zip.ZipEntry;
import java.util.zip.ZipFile;
import java.util.zip.ZipOutputStream;
public class DNFileHandler {
private String filepath;
private List<String> properties = new ArrayList<>();
public DNFileHandler(String filepath) {
this.filepath = filepath;
}
public void openAndDecode() throws IOException {
if (!filepath.endsWith(".dn")) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("File must have .dn extension.");
}
try (ZipFile zf = new ZipFile(filepath)) {
zf.stream().forEach(entry -> properties.add(entry.getName()));
System.out.println("Decoded properties:");
properties.forEach(prop -> System.out.println("- " + prop));
}
}
public void read() {
if (properties.isEmpty()) {
System.out.println("No properties decoded yet. Call openAndDecode first.");
} else {
System.out.println("Read properties:");
properties.forEach(prop -> System.out.println("- " + prop));
}
}
public void write(String newFilepath, List<String> filesToAdd) throws IOException {
if (!newFilepath.endsWith(".dn")) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("New file must have .dn extension.");
}
try (ZipOutputStream zos = new ZipOutputStream(new FileOutputStream(newFilepath))) {
for (String filePath : filesToAdd) {
File file = new File(filePath);
if (file.exists()) {
try (FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream(file)) {
ZipEntry entry = new ZipEntry(file.getName());
zos.putNextEntry(entry);
byte[] buffer = new byte[1024];
int len;
while ((len = fis.read(buffer)) > 0) {
zos.write(buffer, 0, len);
}
zos.closeEntry();
}
}
}
}
System.out.println("New .DN file written to " + newFilepath + " with properties: " + filesToAdd);
}
// Example usage:
// public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
// DNFileHandler handler = new DNFileHandler("example.dn");
// handler.openAndDecode();
// handler.read();
// handler.write("new.dn", List.of("model.obj", "material.mdl"));
// }
}
6. JavaScript Class for .DN File Handling
The following JavaScript class uses JSZip to open a .DN file as a ZIP archive, decode (list) its contents, read and print the properties to console, and support writing a new .DN file (generating a Blob for download).
const JSZip = require('jszip'); // Or include via <script> tag
class DNFileHandler {
constructor(filepath) {
this.filepath = filepath;
this.properties = [];
}
async openAndDecode(fileBuffer) {
if (!this.filepath.endsWith('.dn')) {
throw new Error('File must have .dn extension.');
}
const zip = await JSZip.loadAsync(fileBuffer);
this.properties = [];
zip.forEach((relativePath) => {
this.properties.push(relativePath);
});
console.log('Decoded properties:');
this.properties.forEach(prop => console.log(`- ${prop}`));
}
read() {
if (this.properties.length === 0) {
console.log('No properties decoded yet. Call openAndDecode first.');
} else {
console.log('Read properties:');
this.properties.forEach(prop => console.log(`- ${prop}`));
}
}
async write(newFilepath, filesToAdd) {
if (!newFilepath.endsWith('.dn')) {
throw new Error('New file must have .dn extension.');
}
const zip = new JSZip();
for (const fileObj of filesToAdd) {
// Assume fileObj = {name: 'file.name', content: buffer or string}
zip.file(fileObj.name, fileObj.content);
}
const content = await zip.generateAsync({type: 'nodebuffer'});
// For Node.js, use fs.writeFileSync(newFilepath, content);
console.log(`New .DN file would be written to ${newFilepath} with properties: ${filesToAdd.map(f => f.name)}`);
// Return content for saving
return content;
}
}
// Example usage (Node.js):
// const fs = require('fs');
// const handler = new DNFileHandler('example.dn');
// const buffer = fs.readFileSync('example.dn');
// await handler.openAndDecode(buffer);
// handler.read();
// const newContent = await handler.write('new.dn', [{name: 'model.obj', content: 'data'}, {name: 'material.mdl', content: 'data'}]);
// fs.writeFileSync('new.dn', newContent);
7. C Implementation for .DN File Handling (Using Struct and Functions, as C Lacks Classes)
The following C code uses the minizip library (or similar; assume included) to simulate class-like behavior with a struct. It opens a .DN file as a ZIP, decodes (lists) contents, prints properties, and supports writing a new .DN file. Note: minizip must be linked for compilation.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <zip.h> // Assuming libzip or minizip library
typedef struct {
char* filepath;
char** properties;
int prop_count;
} DNFileHandler;
DNFileHandler* create_dn_handler(const char* filepath) {
DNFileHandler* handler = malloc(sizeof(DNFileHandler));
handler->filepath = strdup(filepath);
handler->properties = NULL;
handler->prop_count = 0;
return handler;
}
void destroy_dn_handler(DNFileHandler* handler) {
free(handler->filepath);
for (int i = 0; i < handler->prop_count; i++) {
free(handler->properties[i]);
}
free(handler->properties);
free(handler);
}
int open_and_decode(DNFileHandler* handler) {
if (strstr(handler->filepath, ".dn") == NULL) {
fprintf(stderr, "File must have .dn extension.\n");
return 1;
}
zip_t* zf = zip_open(handler->filepath, ZIP_RDONLY, NULL);
if (!zf) {
fprintf(stderr, "Error opening ZIP.\n");
return 1;
}
int num_entries = zip_get_num_entries(zf, 0);
handler->properties = malloc(num_entries * sizeof(char*));
for (int i = 0; i < num_entries; i++) {
const char* name = zip_get_name(zf, i, 0);
handler->properties[i] = strdup(name);
handler->prop_count++;
}
zip_close(zf);
printf("Decoded properties:\n");
for (int i = 0; i < handler->prop_count; i++) {
printf("- %s\n", handler->properties[i]);
}
return 0;
}
void read(DNFileHandler* handler) {
if (handler->prop_count == 0) {
printf("No properties decoded yet. Call open_and_decode first.\n");
} else {
printf("Read properties:\n");
for (int i = 0; i < handler->prop_count; i++) {
printf("- %s\n", handler->properties[i]);
}
}
}
int write_dn(DNFileHandler* handler, const char* new_filepath, const char** files_to_add, int add_count) {
if (strstr(new_filepath, ".dn") == NULL) {
fprintf(stderr, "New file must have .dn extension.\n");
return 1;
}
zip_t* zf = zip_open(new_filepath, ZIP_CREATE | ZIP_TRUNCATE, NULL);
if (!zf) {
fprintf(stderr, "Error creating ZIP.\n");
return 1;
}
for (int i = 0; i < add_count; i++) {
zip_source_t* src = zip_source_file(zf, files_to_add[i], 0, 0);
if (src == NULL || zip_file_add(zf, strrchr(files_to_add[i], '/') + 1, src, ZIP_FL_OVERWRITE) < 0) {
zip_source_free(src);
zip_close(zf);
fprintf(stderr, "Error adding file.\n");
return 1;
}
}
zip_close(zf);
printf("New .DN file written to %s with %d properties.\n", new_filepath, add_count);
return 0;
}
// Example usage:
// int main() {
// DNFileHandler* handler = create_dn_handler("example.dn");
// open_and_decode(handler);
// read(handler);
// const char* files[] = {"model.obj", "material.mdl"};
// write_dn(handler, "new.dn", files, 2);
// destroy_dn_handler(handler);
// return 0;
// }